Thong Tube Softening

[Br80Sorenson]

Hello Folks,

Lately I have been including a thong tube/lanyard hole to some of my knives.

How do you guys go about softening the interior radius of this tube?

 

[A.McPherson]

Countersink bit.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Use a countersink bit or a ball burr to chamfer the corners of the hole through the handle material.

Cut the tubing 1/8" longer than the handle thickness. Use annealed tubing if possible. Chamfer the inside edge of the tubing ends. Install the tube with a dot of glue so about 1/16" sticks out on both sides. Clean off any glue that is around the exposed part or in the handle chamfer/counterbore

Use a round punch set as flaring tools to expand the tubing over the countersink. One under the tube and one on the other end. Tap gently to flare. reverse the sides regularly until completely flared.

Use a small brass hammer to tap the lips down tight.

Sand the tube flush with the handle suf0rface.